Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) will offer Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone next month with unlimited data service plans to distinguish itself from rivals AT&T Inc. (T) and Verizon Wireless, according to people familiar with the matter.

Both AT&T and Verizon offered unlimited data plans for iPhone at launch, but have since switched to tiered pricing (though some users remain "grandfathered in" to the older, unlimited plans). Whether Sprint means to keep offering unlimited data going forward, or like Verizon will use the appeal of unlimited data as way to encourage adoption before switching to tiers is unknown.

Being #3 and being so late to the iPhone game comes with some advantages -- to customers. Were you contemplating making the switch, and does unlimited EVDO rev-A data on Sprint entice you?

UPDATE: SprintFeed let us know they've discovered an internal memo blacking out holidays between September 30 and October 15, with fits right into the launch window TiPb previously heard about.

Reader comments

The iPhone looks beautiful and iOS is beautiful...if you like the fixed aesthetic from the vision of Apple. Personally, I love it on an iPad and am indifferent on the iPhone,Claw Digital Reviewthe development of iPhone initiated, also came to the view an industry known as iPhone application development. And, for this reason, these who ended up fond of software development were actually at gain.

I'll switch to Sprint if they get the iPhone 5...only reason I switched to AT&T in the first place was for the iPhone. Now that Sprint carries it, I'll be all jumping ship from AT&T because their coverage sucks where I live.

I have had every carrier, Sprint is by far the best. Also, my friend used to work at Costco which had Sprint, AT&T and Verizon. Every worker there had sprint. The only reason people had AT&T is because of the iphone, why anyone would get them now is beyond me.

I agree with Christine. I've also been with Sprint for over 10 years and service has been great, the phones are great and the Sprint rewards are GREAT! Most of all, they have some of the most economical service plans amongst all of the other carriers.

Same here, Sprint user for a long time. I switch to Cingular years ago, it has bad, so i switched to TMobile, it was worse. Went back to Sprint and it's good and cost effective. I wouldn't doubt if some carriers had better network setups in different cities but here in Detroit sprint works well.

Love sprint, been with.them since 2001, worked for them for 2 years, never had any issues or complaints, ive had almost every phone theyve had to offer, currently have the evo, dont know if I will get the iphone....

I hope this is true. I'm a disgruntled tmobile customer and I cant wait to jump ship. I love android but I have wanted to try an Iphone for a long time. I hated VZW and hated ATT even worse. If sprint gets the Iphone they'll be gaining one new customer in me =)

listen ive had every service possible the only 2 i swear by are verizon( a little expensive but worth it), and SPRINT. i had sprint and talked them out of a cancelation fee..he he they worked with me. i have verizon now with the iphone 4 and love it .. no problems.. pick verizon or sprint .. ATT blows and tmobile is a joke

I've had Sprint for 10 years. No complaints at all, especially as of the last few years. They have really stepped up with their customer service. I never have issues with service. Anytime I do have an issue, they will resolve it promptly. I get a discount for being with them for so long. I have wanted an iphone because I'm a nursing student and the company that makes my textbooks (lippencott) has awesome free apps but they are ONLY for iphone. I currently have an android, but I would NEVER switch from sprint for one of the other carriers. I'm happy here, and I knew sooner or later they'd get the iphone. I'm just glad its coming before I graduate!

yes we all know you save money being on sprint. the only reason they do this is cause they dont have as many customers and need to do it same thing for 7pm for start time of night min. i used to sell for sprint and the customer service was horrible. ultimately you get what you pay for being able to use your phone when you need wherever you need to. your not saving much if you cant use your phone. everyones situation is different and some companys fit them better. its funny selling for verizon now and seeing how many people when thinking about switching they say they want unlimited min and if you check how many min they would use they need way less.

Tell you what, as a musician, there are just too many iPhone and iPad only apps that aren't available for Android or other platforms, that would allow me to manage aspects of my music career for which Android does absolutely nothing for me. Digitech makes a guitar effects Pedalboard that integrates and utilizes the iPad. Anything like that for Android? NO. So if the rumors are true and Sprint releases an iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, or both, one of them is coming home with me in December. Screw this ham fisted "open OS" that isn't getting the job done for me.

I've been with Sprint for 13 years and have lived through the pain of the early years. The people bashing Sprint based on those early years have an absolute right to do so because they were a mess. HOWEVER, I would make a bet that most of those folks have not had Sprint during the Dan Hesse years and that is a shame, because they are a totally different carrier, and a much better one at that. No carrier is perfect. I'll say it again, no carrier is perfect. No carrier has perfect coverage either. I have traveled on business and was one of the few of my associates that had Sprint, and I can say after traveling all over the country, there are ups and downs with all carriers. So pick the one that works best in your area, and if you have to pay more for VZW or AT&T, more power to you. It's your choice, which is the best part.
I will be getting an iPhone 5 on Sprint because it just fits into my life better based on the fact that I listen to a lot of music and the 30 pin connector will make things so convenient for me. Do I think the iPhone is better than my Evo 3D? Not really. I love my Evo 3D and I never use the 3D. It's just a smoking fast phone. But music is still my main reason for wanting an iPhone, and once iOS 5 is released I'm sure the iPhone will be in line with my Evo 3D.

I have Sprint for a personal phone and Verizon for business and they both have their good and bad areas--overall, I would choose Sprint because it costs about 30% less. Having multiple carriers keeps costs down and gives choices. that is why we have chocolate and vanilla ice cream (along with 100's of other flavors). Grow up people and stop trying to force your favorite on someone else based upon a personal issue that will never be the same anywhere else.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE sprint i have been with them since forever &&& i did leave once to go to AT&T but wasn't with them a year before i went back to sprint... everybody has there phone company they want to b with and if you chose the OVER PRICED for no reason company well then that is you wasting your money.

I for one love Sprint. I have been using Sprint as my wireless provider for over 15 years. I have no issues with them and I believe they have the best rates when it comes to data plans. I personally use no less than 5gigs of data or more in one month. Sprint does not charge you any style of data cap as others do.

I don't get my upgrade until December 1st, but if Google isn't offering anything in Ice Cream Sandwich that brings stability and reliability to Android, I'm bailing. By December 1st, they should still be available. I need technology that works. I'm an IT guy but I don't feel the need to tinker with a phone or have to install some custom ROM just to get it to work reliably.

I have a Sprint Pre phone. The customer service is first rate. The 3G data speed is way better than my Verizon. The non-roaming data coverage is abysmal. And 4G - one of those myths that city people talk about, but we never will see in the country! As much as I like a lot about Sprint, especially the price, I got a Verizon Pre2 so I would have better reception where I work.
And I'm posting here because HP was even better at sinking webOS than Palm, so I'm looking at the iPhone5 when it launches.

dear god you people are so dumb.
everyone has a different experience depending on where you live. are the people at your local sprint/verizon/att stores DB's or nice people? depends where the hell you live. a lot of them are very nice and helpfull, and a lot of them are idiots who could care less. i bet most people have dealt the both on multiple companies.
take everything with a grain of salt and stop whining.

A woman from Sprint customer service once stayed on the phone with us for over THREE HOURS STRAIGHT trying to get our cell phone number mix up straightened out. She talked us through absolutely everything. THAT is great customer service from a great company. I couldn't be more excited about the iPhone coming to sprint. I was upset that we had to switch from Verizon in order to get smart phones because their pricing was just too high for us, right when they got the iPhone too!

Why go to the trouble to defend any of the carriers? They are all expensive and none of them are as fast and reliable as advertise (I have had all three). The only thing I am passionate about is the actual phone, which is apparently going to be offered by the majority of American carriers. Make your own decision and remember that in the end these are billion dollar corporations we are talking about, not somebody being bullied

I have had sprint and AT&T both or over 10 years. Now let me see who would I drop AT&T. By far the worst! But I have to keep them for work so I'm stuck! Sprint has improved 100 %. but what's o bad about keeping a land line? I mean do we really need to be on a cell phone putting all of our business in the streets?

All of you idiots who are whining about which service is better or worse are missing the big point here- competition! I currently have unlimited data with AT&T so I won't be going anywhere- yet. Once they are all LTE, I'll be going to the lowest bidder for sure.

In the past four weeks I started keeping a log on my iPhone through AT&T for dropped calls. In this four week period I have dropped a total of 37 calls. I live in Houston Texas, the fourth largest city in the US. All of the dropped calls were within the city limits.
During that time I had a friend who has Sprint do the same thing. Over the same four week period, he dropped ZERO calls.
I'm on wifi most of the time. I have data only because I have to have it. I care more about the dropped calls and the ridiculous prices I pay through AT&T for their mediocre service.

With Sprint in NYC (been on all carriers) I have a dropped a total of maybe 10 calls max in 2 years. Most of them happening when the storm hit up here this summer. So last year I dropped 1 freaking call. That is pretty damn good

If anybody in the UK is looking at this and wanting unlimited data have a look at giffgaff at https://giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/ed33 . I know this is about Sprint in the US, but hopefully this will be useful to somebody :)

I've been a Sprint customer since the Instinct was released.
Just a couple weeks ago, when HP announced it would no longer be manufacturing WebOS devices, I decided to try out the HP Veer 4G on at&t (I've always loved WebOS, and I thought I'd nab one while I still can). However, at&t provided absolutely no signal in my place of residence, and almost no signal at my place of work. After 2 days, I canceled my account with at&t and returned to my Samsung Epic 4G on Sprint. I get signal where I work, where I live, and everywhere in between (I live in Chicago). I have an upgrade coming up soon, and I will be seriously considering iPhone 5, or whatever its going to be called. I do hope that iOS gets some form of non-intrusive notifications. That would sell me right away.

I too have been on sprint since the instinct. I just preordered the Galaxy S2 epic 4G. Its a pretty sick phone even tho I will miss webOS. This will do not to mention while apple is JUST getting android and webOS notifications on its dated OS. Android is about to take another huge step with NFC and face recognition with its new 4.0 OS coming out in Oct. Check it out Alex (you can setup the S2 to have cards)

cant wait for sprint. in nyc att is by far the worst and i just wont go to verizon hate that company so ive been suffering. and can you say 27 % discount. my bill will be 61.1 without taxes. plus they give you 125 to switch and another 150 for my iphone to get the new one. customer service is great too been to the stores but i never did have their service so i wont drop att till after a month

Mark I'm a musician and all my friends in NYC have the worst AT&T exp. Verizon and Sprint kick butt in the city. My friend once dropped over 100 calls a week for three months. Even with full bars in Astoria and AT&T kept givin him free months til he finally just left. He loved the Iphone as it is a great product but he just couldnt use it for what it is needed for.

I don't understand some of you. The bashing of Sprint is just ridiculous. Not everyone has the same experiences with carriers, hence the reason why we have more than one. Personally, I have had Sprint for 7 years now, and I have no complaints. My phone is just as fast with data as people I know with AT&T and Verizon, and I pay far less money than they do. But that's not the case for everyone, so be it. So why can't we just grown up and stop bashing people for having their CHOICE with their carriers!

There is no way that you pay less with Verizon and get the same amount of options as you do with Sprint. I have been a call supervisor with Verizon for 3 years and have a pretty vast knowledge of our plans. lol Take your BS elsewhere.

You're actually the one talking BS. I love Sprint and won't plan on switching for Verizon anytime soon. Nights and Weekends that start at 7; fast internet speeds; welcoming and helpful customer service; any mobile, any network, anytime minutes; and unlimited data. Yeah, I checked into it and it is MUCH cheaper than any options I was offered at Verizon.

@Crazylune
When people are saying they are paying less, assume they are paying $69/voice + $30/data (unlimited if you got lucky), in my case only pay $24 for data. I don't pay for text, why?? there are plenty of text app, including but not limited to google voice. My monthly bills +taxes comes to around $74.......... P.S. don't have unlimited voice, don't need it.........but there is an app for that, too.

Agreed totally! I have been with sprint for 10 years in October and have nothing but good to say. They have always been right there when I have had an issue. I have the evo now, but I think I will give the iphone5 a try, only because it will be with Sprint!!

I get better network performance in Atlanta out of Sprint than I ever did out of AT&T. I don't particularly care if the iPhone 5 works with WiMax or not. Right now, I'm paying a "premium data fee" for WiMax that is spotty at best. I can get it to connect at work but not at home and in various places across town, there is no WiMax. I don't care about LTE or 4G right now. All I need is a reliable phone that does exactly what I need it to do without me having to tinker with it. I tinker with computers all day at work. I don't want to tinker with my phone. I just need it to work. Bring it Sprint. Android on the HTC EVO after the Gingerbread Update has been unreliable at best.

One day, I signed up with Sprint online. Only minutes after completing the online agreement, I got cold feet and clicked Cancel. Months later, Sprint came after me for the phone and service that I never used. They began billing me as if I was using the service, and 6 months of payments were backed up by the time I was notified. My credit was laced with non-payments, and I had collectors begin harrasing me for bills that I never accrued. I spoke to Sprint and told them that I backed out, and all the rep had to say was that I agreed to the contract and therefore had to pay for 6 months of service even though my phone was never even taken out of the box. I vowed to never again even enter a Sprint store or purchase from them.
That was 10 years ago. After that fiasco, I spent the next decade bouncing between carriers, and finding out that Big Red is probably the worst of them. I have since forgiven Sprint, and have had my HTC Evo since it came out last summer. I haven't had a single problem with Sprint since I came back, and I plan on getting the Iphone 6 when it comes out next year. At this point in my life, I'm glad I came back to Sprint, and I couldn't imagine being with any other carrier.

I too have been with Sprint a Long time, actually since 1999, and I think I have only had a few probs. However they were with Hardware issues such as the phone itself, but Sprint was happy to fix the problem. To give an example, I had free service for almost a year, due to the fact that I had 2 defective phones. Sprint, also has, "I believe" the BEST SIGNAL and overall service than any other Carrier, which I have had All the majors. I currently hav the EVO and an Instinct, I like them both. Now that the iphone5 will be offerd by Sprint. I will give it a try as well, as I am a fan of some of the apps that apple offers.

Lets just accept it guys there is many carriers out there to fit peoples needs and wants me like the OP I have been with sprint since there days of the red logo and never had a complaint. I love the speeds I get

Amen. I've been with Sprint for 7 years as well and while I may be switching to AT&T it's not because I hate Sprint. They've been GREAT to me. It's because there isn't the greatest coverage where I live. And that's WHY there are different carriers. Get over it. Bashing someone else over what carrier they have? Really? Grow up, people. Children have more relevant arguments than this.

I'd like to see an iOS feature or app that shows which carrier has the strongest signal. A GSM/CDMA hybrid iPhone might be able to do that.
The next (huge) step would be automatic switching to which ever carrier happens to be strongest. The carriers would absolutely hate that, because they would finally be treated like the dumb pipes they are.

ATT does get dropped calls, however Sprint lacks signal in so many places that I'd rather keep my ATT phone dropping calls than be unreachable in my basement or the bakery, or the restaurant or the... you get the point.
I used Sprint for three years before switching to ATT.

My first Sprint phone was an old Nokia that you could only play worm on... I have been with Sprint since 1999.. In between I have tried both Att and Verizon and honestly and personally I think Sprint has been by far the best customer service. And now they have the phones to back it up, yes the fact that the speeds on LTE are so much faster suck... but all that really means to me is that you can drain your limited data faster. I am hoping one day that we will be able to use cell phone companies as a means to use fast at home internet.. This can only happen with unlimited data and I am hoping that sprint paves the way for this. If Sprint keeps unlimited data WHEN they change to LTE (and maybe even advance LTE- true 4G) the other companies will be forced to do the same. This is how competition works. Look at Apple and how much money they lost by sticking with att for so long alone. That was what gave android the oppurtunity to grow like they did... Anyways I have high hopes for Sprint in the future, so we will see what happens.

Yup, with great voice coverage, great pricing, and great support. The data coverage is great, but the speeds can be lacking sometimes. This should start to go away with the Network Vision project (which includes 1xRTT Advanced as well as EVDO Rev. B with DO Advanced technology and a probable LTE/LTE+ rollout).

Yes, and also don't forget telenav navigation, att and verizon also charge extra for that. Sprint is hands down the best bang for the buck, and I have never had any reception issues, or dropped calls in the 10 years I've had them.

YES YES YES not top mention you dont need the 99 plan. You can do the 69 plan cuz sprint only charges minutes before 7pm to land lines and roaming. They have free any mobile to any mobile. I had the 99 plan and they called me and said they are dropping my plan cuz I dont need it. I was like wow I never had a carrier tell me I am paying too much. I average 3500 min (no land line) and spend about 90 of my 450 minutes a month. Hope that answers your question ROB

yep forgot to mention unlimited to ANY MOBILE ON ANY NETWORK, free nights and weekends. And i barely call landlines anymore anyways.
they offered a promo plan that was ten bucks less then i was paying and i just called them and asked for it and they said yes. intant ten buck discount. Same thing with more minutes because my plan was 450 minutes. They just gave me 50 extra.
not only that i used to have sprint and quit due to bad customer service and bad reception. came back for the pre. Pre sucks but customer service and reception has been ok. And bad reception in some places i'm blaming on my pre. My mom a transform and my brother had an evo and when i was in atlanta i held them up side by side and while my pre got no reception my the transform and evo had full bars. so i'm not scared of bad reception.

Crappy company like sprint??? For me the signal is always great ever where I go in the US AND true unlimited data plans with no restrictions whatsoever makes sprint the best choice for any iPhone user, how is that crappy???
And by the way, customer service has greatly improved.

The Unlimited plan will just be something introductury and then will eventually go away.
As far sprint and their service goes, they have always sucked in my area. As I welcome more carriers to provide the best phone on the market to consumers, I dont see many current iPhone users SWITCHING from AT&T/Verizon to Sprint just to get unlimited plans.

you do know everyone does not live right near you right?
many people have good signals with sprint. If you live in San Francisco its an extremely often expressed complaint that AT&T service sucks. and many people would rather not pay high AT&T Verizon prices. The idea that just cause you won't switch nobody else will is laughably naive.

Maybe but just because ATT and Verizon did it does not mean Sprint will do the same. Truth is NO one knows just yet.
So Sprint sucks in your area. Does not mean it sucks elsewhere. Also many would want to go unlimited if they are not already.

I like Sprint, but Sprint's 3G network is not superman. ATT network is horrible in a lot of places, sure, and iPhone users blame themselves for that. It's a pitty ATT has misdirected the truth: Their network is just not very good and was never made to be as large as it is.
Verizon, on the other hand, still maintains -- for the most part -- good signal coverage and not only has the iPhone 4 but many, many Android choices, where all the customers of these devices constantly use data. But even they had to get rid of unlimited data. Why? Because last time I check, Verizon has over 90 million customers, and Sprint has about 50 million, give or take a few million.
Many of Sprint's power house phones -- the HTC EVO 3D, Moto Photon 4G, Epic 2 Touch, HTV EVO 4G are all 4G phones and thus in a lot of areas lift the burden off the 3G and onto the better WiMAX network. However, with the iPhone 5 and possibly iPhone 4S, you will have new customers switching, and using a phone that relies on 3G data and not your 4G. Unless they are pulling a fast one and somehow get a WiMAX iPhone, which is almost laughable to even think (I doubt Apple will waste the resources). So add another 10 or 20 million customers, all using 3G data like crazy, and see what happens. Even Dan Hesse said the unlimited data might end if people start using data more. The reason they give unlimited is because they believe -- and their research proves -- that people usually don't use as much data as they think. Some do, sure, but it's sustainable, especially considering they don't have 90 million customers like ATT does.

Dont worry, you'll become a Sprint fanboy as soon as they announce there nationwide LTE coverage plan on Oct 7th with satellite coverage in non-terrestrial areas, coverage everwhere with faster LTE speeds than verizon.

I do see manyh iPhone users switching. Just go to Macrumors and many iPhone users WANT unlimited data. And yes, some area's Sprint does not cover well. But then again, what area does ATT cover well? OK that was a joke. Sprint has a large, but not the largest, coverage map. However, do the research, Sprint has the more dependable network. It works where it should, more then others. Verizon is literally right behind, however Verizon also has slow 3G speeds. Worse in some areas then others because Verizon doesn't upgrade all of it's towers, generally spends money on.
And just to prove to you every network has horror stories, read this http://www.bgr.com/2011/03/16/why-i-switched-back-to-an-att-iphone/. It's actually a GOOD thing for ATT, bad for Verizon -- said to be the best network in town.
So yes, every carrier is going to differ depending on where you live. Big deal. It's where I live, it's good in a lot of areas. And it's probably going to have the iPhone soon.

Well, maybe you haven't seen anyone switching is because Sprint doesn't HAVE the iPhone yet. Love Sprint. Had it for years. No problems and I live in the boonies. No way am I switching to AT&T or Verizon or any other provider for that matter.

I hated Sprint when I had them. I didn't think anyone could be worse than AT&T but I was wrong. I would be in full digital range and I would have STATIC on my calls or calls would simply drop constantly. I have a mobile modem through Sprint and that works great but my phone would never reflect the same signal. They offered no explanation or help either and there is a tower like 2 miles from where I work. Also I like how their ad says they don't throttle data, if I have a data heavy day it sure seems like it gets slower at night to me.

"STATIC" on a cell phone would be a phone issue, not a service provider issue. Data speeds on cell towers from all providers will slow down during times of peak usage, such as when people are home from work, school, weekends. More people on the towers = peak usage.

Sprint does have restrictions to their "unlimited" plan listed in their fine print. One of them is that if you use more than 300mb of data in an extended network area they can throttle you or even cut you off completely.

bro i used over 1 million mb in a road trip when i had my laptop tethered to my phone. never saw any change in data speeds or was never "cut off completely". i wish people would get their facts straight before they write nonsense such as this....

bro it says that they can change, modify, or terminate voice/data service if they use more than 800 minutes of voice on off network tower or over 300 mb of data in one month. It also says that as advertised this will NOT result in throttling (limiting data throughput speeds). like you said read it for your self....

Please realize, that 300MB limit refers to when you are using data while ROAMING! Sprint has 100% free roaming for calls and the first 300MB or data
Please show me another carrier that even allows any data to be used while roaming and not incur any charges at all

I'm a happy customer of Sprint why?
In my local area their reception is on par with AT&T and Verizon. They are much less expensive in cost, the unlimited unlimited is just $99.
They have a repair facility near me that actually fixes phones rather than serves as a order depot, so my broken phone can get fixed same day, not being down 2 days waiting for FedEx.
Customer service is no better at Verizon or AT&T, I guess some people just like to pay more for limited plans.
I'm really excited by the opportunity for the iPhone on Sprint. I've never felt the iPhone was worth paying potentially 50% more monthly to have over the likes of an Evo and now I won't have to come next month.

I've been with Sprint for 10 years.. and switched to AT&T for exactly 7 months to get the Iphone. AT&T was sooo bad I had to switch back so "crappy" is a relative word. I have tons of friends on AT&T and they drop more calls than anyone I know. I think it just depends on the area in which you live.

Are you talking from experience? I haven't had any trouble out of Sprint's service, other then slow speeds (and honestly, my wife doesn't have that problem, for some reason my 3G speeds on my HTC arrive is slower then thew Photon's 3G speeds and no, I don't live in a WiMAX area. Although I wish I did). And when I say slow, I don't mean slow where I can't use the phone. I mean it's not faster then my Comcast, but closer to my parents DSL speeds. Which is fine with me. As long as I get my calls and they don't drop. Oh, wait, that doesn't happen every day like it does on ATT.